


Over Time : Archives

by aifi_shk



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Modern Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:34:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29001546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aifi_shk/pseuds/aifi_shk
Summary: This is just an archive of Over Time dribbles that didn’t make it to the original series (coming soon). Mostly inspired by Tiktok.
Relationships: Mikasa Ackerman/Jean Kirstein
Kudos: 24





	1. Making Bed

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired by a Tiktok titled “Aggresively Thanking My Girlfriend for Making The Bed” by @/meghanandjack. I’m thinking of turning this into a story, but it’ll depends on whether I’ll be mentally stable to write it or not. Enjoy!

Mikasa huffs out a weary breath. Putting on bed cover shouldn’t be this tiring, she feels like, but growing up under the care of Levi and his weird obsession with being clean and neat and tidy, does affect her way of doing things.

There’s a lot of “tch, both sides of the bed must have equal amount of sheet, brat” or “look at the top edge of the sheet! It doesn’t align with the top edge of the mattress!” and “fold the sheet exactly 46 cm at the top” along with “blanket must be folded to 46 to 61 cm wide before you drape it over the bed, if you want it to look pretty”.

To which Mikasa often reply with, “what if I want it to just be a bed? You know, normal, functioning bed, not a bed that will get the first place in The Most Precise in Measurement Bed Competition?”

Levi will then narrow his already narrow eyes, staring down (yeah, he’s shorter but for some reason he’s capable of making himself that intimidating) at her with clear murderous intent while mumbling somewhere along the line with “what did I expect from a messy brat like you” under his breath.

Mikasa will roll her eyes skyward in response then, annoyed to say the least, but remembering it all now and looking at the bed she just made, she can’t help but chuckle a little.

She gotta call her brother someday and ask how he and Erwin been doing these days, also how’s school for little Hange and Moblit. They met last Christmas for Levi’s birthday and there’s few video calls after that, but she already miss the twins dearly.

Her phone beeped a couple of times from the bedside table, calling for her attention, so she reached out for it, unlocking it as she takes a seat at her end side of the bed.

It’s just Connie blasting memes Mikasa already saw on Twitter in their group chat, earning a few replies from the others, the loudest being Sasha, using all capital letter to express her amusement.

Mikasa chuckles too seeing the replies but doesn’t bother replying. She has always been the quiet one in the group anyway, not surfacing unless someone directly mentions her so she’s gonna sit this one out too.

The girls group chat has some unread messages too so Mikasa presses on it next.

Surprisingly, it’s the other quiet girl in any group chats, Annie, and what’s even more surprising that it’s actually a picture of Armin, sleeping on the couch with her cat on his chest.

The cat glared at the camera, which is already funny on itself, but Annie’s caption; the chance of your cat stealing your man is low but never zero, is what making Mikasa laughs out loud.

The other girls seems to share her reaction, because there’s tons of crying-laughing emoji replying to that, along with Sasha’s signature “sksksksksk” reply when something is absurdly funny to her, and Hitch’s “it’s the *star emoji* death glare *star emoji* for me”.

Mikasa peppers in “how does it feels to be the third wheel in your own marriage?” as her reply and giggles when Sasha “sksksksksk” again, this time in full capital letters.

Historia suddenly chimes in, first sending skull emoji to reply to Annie’s picture, before posting her own. It’s a picture of Eren, also sleeping, but he’s on a rocking chair and in his arms is Historia’s new born baby.

The caption; Uncle Eren came by today to say hi, completes with heart emojis with multiple colours, and Mikasa braces herself for impact (as she always do before if something regarding Eren comes out), but, shockingly (or maybe not that shockingly), it never comes.

Mikasa’s heart does flutter a little bit seeing that picture, but it’s not in a bad way. Especially not in a jealous kind of way. Not anymore. Eren has found what he’s looking for, freedom to be what he wants to be, and Mikasa’s happy for him, and that’s just the way it’s gonna be between them.

The picture spawns a chorus of “aww”s and “uwu”s and various colour of heart emojis from the girls, and Mikasa intends to do the same, but Jean stomping into their bedroom startles her.

Jean stops at his end of the bed, but he doesn’t take a seat, just stands there, glancing at the bed before glaring at her with an unreadable expression on his face.

“What—“ Mikasa wants to ask, but Jean cuts her off.

“Did you made this bed today?” His eyebrows furrows, his forehead creases, and it sends Mikasa standing in defence, her phone left abandoned on the bed.

“Yes, I did.” Her voice’s borderline confused and amused, because Jean sounds too aggressive to be speaking about such a trivial matter.

“You did make this bed today?” He repeats with his tone remains authoritative. “What the hell is wrong with it?!”

Mikasa’s getting more and more confused. Jean sounds exactly like Levi now, and that’s a weird (and not to mention, scary) comparison to make, because except from their gender, there’s absolutely nothing in common between them.

“Nothing—“

“I make the bed everyday— and I let you make it one time, and then it’s like this— what is this?!”

Jean is almost always, if not all the time, honest. Painfully honest, in fact, and it’s one of the thing that Mikasa appreciates about him, but she knows deep down she’s nervous, thinking that one day Jean will criticise her flaws in the most brutal way possible.

As she looks back and forth between Jean’s upset face and the bed that’s almost perfect for her standard, she realises that the day has finally come and although she never thought it will be about the way she makes the bed, she knows she gotta be ready for what’s to come.

“What’s wrong with it?!” Mikasa frowns, her lips unintentionally pouting.

“It’s—“ Jean gestures his hands broadly and vaguely at the bed, “it’s— it’s perfectly made!”

Mikasa pulls a straight face immediately and incredulously at him. Her laughter bubbles in her chest but she presses it down by pursing her lips into a thin line.

“What’s going on, Mikasa?! Why is it so phenomenal?!” Jean exclaims, suddenly climbing onto the bed, standing on it, hovering over her while Mikasa struggles to keep her face expressionless.

“I’ve never seen anything this amazing in my entire life!”

Mikasa rolls her eyes and looks away, very close to losing it when Jean keeps his squat stance in the middle of the bed, looking comical with a fake mad expression on his long face.

“Now, here’s what I need from you!” Jean points his index finger at her face, pulling Mikasa’s attention back to him. “I’m gonna need a kiss from you! Guess where I need it?!”

Mikasa slaps his finger away, a faint chuckle slips between her lips.

“That’s right! ON. THE. LIPS!”

That chuckle turns to a merry laughter. Mikasa can’t contain it anymore as Jean inches himself closer in the same stance, crossing the bed like a crab with ridiculously long legs to her.

“Give me a kiss, Mikasa! Get over here!” He commands her with the same voice she only hear during meeting, which make all of this even more absurd, leaning down towards her to offer his lips.

Between her amusement and annoyance, Mikasa still meets her man half way, rewarding him with a kiss as her left hand found its way to his jaw, rubbing on his rough stubble as they lips plaster together.

It’s a short kiss, nothing heavy, nothing steamy, but it’s stupidly sweet and Mikasa finds herself sinking into it, settling into it, like a warm bed on a rainy day.

Jean pulls away, and Mikasa giggles again as Jean crabs his way down the bed. Jean’s protruding butt in front of her is attempting, and she just has to take that bait.

She throws herself across the bed with right hand strengthened out to give that butt a smack as a punishment for playing with her, but Jean manages to escape loosely, finally losing his character and laughing at the sight of Mikasa planting her face to the mattress.

“Jean....” Mikasa growls playfully as she pushes herself out of the bed. “Get your ass over here!”

Jean just cackles like a maniac as he runs out of the bedroom with Mikasa hots on his heels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Levi and Mikasa are siblings. Yeah, Levi and Erwin are married and adopted Hange and Moblit as their kids. Yeah, Armin and Annie are also married. Yeah, they have group chat. Yeah, I will add/edit more character tags, and yeah, if this turns out to be not a multiple chapters work like I imagine it to be, I’ll change it later. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	2. Good morning!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is also inspired by a Tiktok from @/sophiefreesh where she made a compilation of his pilot boyfriend sending her morning wish videos every time he’s away. Enjoy!

1\. Hizuru

[First day]

“Remember when you told me you missed Hizuru? Well, since I’m here for a week, I’m gonna document my stay here for you, okay? Nuh-uh, no saying no. I made up my mind, so if you don’t want ‘em, block me. But- don’t actually block me for real, I’m just— just bear with me, Mikasa—“

That’s how it started, the first video from Jean.

Jean on the screen broke out into a satisfactory smile, acting as if that explanation would make Mikasa felt less weirded out by this.

She got scared for a second when she woke up earlier. Jean never really texted her before, their prior communication had always been outside of phones, so just imagine how unnerved she was when she saw that text. Her mind raced, because why the hell would Jean send her a video (a video of himself, no less!) without any warning that early in the morning.

Granted, there’s a five hours difference between Hizuru and Paradis, so while she received it at 3AM, it’s already 8 there, but still, she couldn’t wrap her head around the reason for it before she watched the video.

Oh, so Jean just wanted to show Hizuru to her? That’s kinda nice, but that didn’t explain the video, though. Why won’t he just sent her pictures? And, just text her, like a normal person would?

And it’s like Jean could guess what she’s thinking at that exact moment, because the next thing that came out of his mouth was, “—yeah I could text you, but I really want you to see all this—“

Jean flipped his camera, showing her the mesmerising scenery of a town from on top of a hill somewhere in Hizuru, still clouded by early morning mist.

“—it’s so pretty!” Jean exclaimed off-frame, “and, _oh_ — look at this!” He pointed his camera at the park on his right, showing Mikasa guessed as the exactly what he’s trying to show her since the very beginning.

“It’s sakura! Your favourite thing about Hizuru! They’re here and they’re in full bloom!” Jean chuckled excitedly, there’s a faint blush on cheeks that could be caused by the whether but somehow Mikasa got the feelings that that’s not the reason. “— Gah! I knew going to Hizuru for outstation is gonna be amazing!”

Mikasa watching it, couldn’t help but smile a little, infected by his excitement. He’s right. It was pretty and Mikasa wished she’s back in Hizuru, witnessing this beauty on her own.

“Pictures wouldn’t do it justice, Mikasa, and I want you to actually see sakura leaves falling down!”

 _Ah_ , hence, the video.

Jean then suddenly flipped the camera back to him, startling both him and Mikasa for how close his face was to the screen.

Without saying anything anymore, Jean started strutting under the canopy of sakura trees, stopping at under one of them, his camera facing upwards, showing Mikasa what it felt like to be under it. He looked up, smiling at the tree, then looked down at the camera again, smiling at her nostalgically, dragging Mikasa along into the hole of reminiscent.

Jean held out his hand, catching the fallen sakura petals blown by the early morning spring breeze. He managed to catch one, and with a wide grin, he propped his hand in front of his camera so that Mikasa could see it too.

“I’m going to keep this inside my phone cover— I’ll catch another one, and I’ll give that one to you. If you want, of course.”

Jean chuckled yet again, this time embarrassingly, his face turned to a deeper shade of red.

Mikasa bit her lower lip.

“I saw a stall of sofutokurimu _[ice cream]_ down there but it’s not open yet so I’ll come back later to have a taste— anyway, just want to show you this— and say good morning, of course, so, um, good morning. You don’t have to reply to this, just— just— never mind, okay, bye, Mikasa.”

Jean kept his smile and waved to the camera, and it took quite some time for Mikasa to realise that the video’s over. Jean’s face froze on her screen with a transparent play button covering half of it, offering Mikasa for a replay.

Mikasa didn’t press on it, still overwhelmingly incredulous about all of this. Instead she locked her phone and threw it to her side, focusing on breathing steadily. After a while, she unlocked it again, not to reply to him nor rewatch the video, but to go on Twitter.

@axermilk : what?????

After a few seconds, she replied to her own tweet.

@axermilk : huh

[Second day]

“Hey, it’s, um, almost 6:30 in the morning, my time, but look at the sky?” Jean pointed out to the almost yellow sky. “Freaking ridiculous, how early the sunrise is in Hizuru?”

Mikasa wanted to say not that early, it’s actually normal, just like in Paradis and Jean just didn’t notice it before because he’s not an early bird, but she let it go. Jean wouldn’t be able to hear her responding anyway.

“I actually headed out for a run, but I figured you want to see Hizuru’s morning sky, so I recorded this. Good morning, by the way. Hope everything is well for you today too.”

Jean smiled and waved to the camera like the first video, muttered his goodbye, and the video ended.

And just like before, Mikasa went on her Twitter without replying to him.

@axermilk : focus on ur work, sir.

She sent that tweet but deleted it a few minutes later.

[Third day]

“Here’s Hizuru’s rain, Mikasa.”

Jean must’ve placed his phone by the window of his office because Mikasa could see the entire city from there. It’s mesmerising, for sure, everything was exactly like Mikasa remembered it to be.

Mikasa almost got sucked into a trance state of remembrance when Jean flipped the camera back to him, startling her. Jean wasn’t exactly staring at her, she knew that, Jean couldn’t even see her now, but she’s blushing nonetheless, still not used to this kind of interaction before.

“It’s actually been raining since early this morning, and it’s freezing, but that’s okay, ‘cause I have a nice cup of hot coffee with me!” Jean showed her his cup with boyish grin plastered on his face. “Good morning, Mikasa.”

[Fourth day]

“Good morning. I’m actually a little late for work—“ Jean chuckled from the other end of the line, “—yeah, I overslept— but it’s actually a good thing because how else can I get to show you the inside of the train,” he turned his phone from left to right slowly as he said that, “‘cause I bet you miss being in the rush hour here.”

_Huh, not really, but whatever._

“Oh, hold on, we’re passing the seaside!”

Jean exclaimed as the screen went brighter, a clear evident that the train was actually running through somewhere without skyscrapers or any building.

Mikasa got the feeling that Jean’s trying to show her the ocean but he forgot to flip the camera so all Mikasa’s seeing now his increasingly wide grin and the reflection of the blue sea and the blue sky in his brown eyes.

Jean glanced at his camera and gave himself a shock. “Oh, shit—!” He changed the camera direction instantly, chuckling nervously at his dumb mistake. 

“Look, Mikasa, the ocean.”

And Mikasa did look. And, she did enjoy it, and Jean looked like he knew it, because his grin turned into full of satisfaction one when he turned the camera around again.

“Oh, my station’s here— so, yeah, have a good day, Mikasa. Bye.”

Jean didn’t wave his good bye this time, but he still gave her a pleasant smile to end his video.

[Fifth day]

Jean sniffled a few times before talking.

“It’s sunny today but somehow felt like 10 degrees outside— god I’m freezing. Anyway, good morning. I don’t know what to show you this morning, so here’s a video of me inside a convenience store to get breakfast.”

The camera wasn’t pointing at Jean but rather at the his surroundings. He stayed silent as he took his stuffs, and she guessed that’s the point of all of this, him making her felt like she’s back in Hizuru again, but she kinda missed his dumb narration and his equally dumb expression as he did that.

At the end, he did show himself but it’s only for a little while.

“It’s still 2AM in Paradis, right? Hope you have a good night sleep.”

[Sixth day]

“Good morning from Hizuru! It’s Friday, currently, which means, I’m gonna be home in two days! Yay! And guess what? I have a whole free day today so I’m taking you with me to a little vacation! Double yay!”

Mikasa chuckled well into the video as she watched Jean vlogged (that’s what this all was, she decided— a series of vlog, but instead posting it on YouTube, Jean just sent it to her for free) his way through his day.

He went to a shrine named Izumo, the most ancient shrine in Hizuru, in a little town named Shimane, and although she swore she’s never a person who enjoyed watching any sorts of vlog content, Mikasa found herself to be into it.

Jean recorded everything— doing the hand-washing ritual, pulling the rope to sound the bell, getting a prophecy reading from a fortune-telling box, then lunch, and then walked around the nearby to enjoy another round of watching sakura.

As Jean took a seat under one of the sakura trees, he suddenly said, “Hey, I forgot— this might as well be the last video, since I don’t know what else to show you and even if I do, I don’t have the time to. So, yeah, thank you for still not blocking me.”

Jean chuckled.

“Good morning, Mikasa. Hope all is well for you.”

@axermilk : okay, but why do I feel awful

[Seventh day]

Notification saying that she got a message from Jean actually woke her up this time. She yawned, but she still pressed on the play button while blinking a few times to fight her sleepiness off.

“It’s 4:00 AM, we just got out of the karaoke place—“ Jean hiccuped, “you know how’s Hizuru people are.. they love karaoke way too much, and, yes— I’ve been drinking.. they did all this for me, cause I’m going home so I must drink, y’know— but I’m okay. I’m walking my way home to sober up—“

A few friends of his bid their farewell to him and Jean replied back, waving his hand at them, didn’t even bother to stop recording while he’s doing that.

“—listen, I know I said yesterday’s the last day, but I guessed I’m used to it now, recording and saying good morning to you—“ he rambled on as his surrounding got quiet again, all with shy smile on his face. “—so, I just did it, and— and I’m scared I didn’t get you in the morning so I’m recording this early.”

Jean cleared his throat, and Mikasa noticed it, the faint blush on his face.

“Good morning, Mikasa. Hope you have nice day.”

Mikasa’s stomach fluttered with a bizarre warm feeling in the middle of the night. It felt like her blanket just getting heavier, and she’s sinking deeper to her bed, and it’s all because of Jean’s greeting.

Groggily, she typed “good morning Jean” as her reply but she fell asleep before she could hit the send button.

2\. Sina, with Armin.

They never actually addressed the videos thingy when he got back from Hizuru last time. Jean never mentioned about it, probably because he didn’t want to embarrass himself to death, and Mikasa too never said anything in fear of her seemingly enjoying it and asking for more.

She didn’t want that...

_Or, did she?_

If she didn’t, why would the first thought she had when she woke up this morning was, _“oh, no video today too?”_ after two empty mornings since Jean left.

Mikasa bit the inside of her cheeks, preventing herself from actually groaning out loud.

@axermilk : not me actually waiting for him

Few minutes later, Sasha replied to her tweet.

@mashedpotatobaby : what are we talking about here

And then, Connie followed suit.

@theabsoluteconman_ : *eyes emoji*

Mikasa didn’t reply to them, just waiting for a specific notification to arrive, but it never did, so when Jean’s back, she came to his office. It’s actually to pass on a monthly financial report for him to check before passing it on to their superior, but she confronted him anyway.

Why, you ask? Well, she didn’t know why.

_Just because._

“You didn’t send me any video this time. I thought you’re used to it by now.”

Jean, who’s actually drinking for his cup of coffee, almost spewed liquid out of his nose. “It’s rather unprofessional to talk about this in the office, Ms Ackerman,” he said teasingly, after pulling himself together.

“That’s bold coming from someone who paid Connie because he lost his bet on a football match during a meeting.”

Jean tried but failed not to smile. He cleared his throat, “I thought— I didn’t want to disturb you. I thought you didn’t like them— you never reply, so—“

“Well, yeah, but I never said I didn’t like them.”

“Ah.” Jean licked his bottom lips. “Sorry, then. I’ll make sure to give you... two videos next time.” He eyed Mikasa before averting his gaze to his laptop, his fingers tapping on the report, probably nervous, or embarrassed.

“Is that a promise?”

“Yeah. Oh, wait—“ his fingers stopped tapping, his face bright with realisation when he looked at Mikasa again. “So you _like_ my videos?”

This time, Mikasa’s the one who felt like she would choked out her drink if she was in the middle of drinking.

Flustered, she just mumbled, “it’s just rather unprofessional to ask this kind of thing while working, Mr Kirstein,” before walking out of his office. She heard Jean chuckled under his breath but she didn’t turn to confirm it, not risking Jean seeing her flushed face.

3\. Trost

The next time he went away, this time not for some business trips somewhere, just back at his hometown visiting his mother, Jean did gave her two videos. One in the morning, one in the night.

Ridiculously, it’s just flat out videos of him saying whatever he wanted, and what’s even more ridiculous about that was, Mikasa found nothing wrong with it.

The morning one was just him mumbling nonsense, clearly still out of it while recording the video.

“My mom woke me up— it’s too early, oh my god, maybe I should go back to sleep.... but I can smell my mom’s omelette...” Jean grunted as he rubbed one of his eyes. “Oh, right, good morning to you. Have a nice day, today.”

The night one came just a few minutes before 7PM when Mikasa was helping Erwin preparing for dinner. Mikasa wiped her hands on her apron before getting in the toilet to watch it.

“You’re with Coach Levi tonight, right? How’s him? Wait, no, you don’t have to answer that. Knowing him, he’s probably doing much better than I ever was. Are Armin and Annie gonna be there too- oh, right, I forgot! They’re spending Christmas in Marley this year, sorry.”

Jean chuckled a little as intermission.

“Must be fun to have siblings, huh? Sucks to be the only child, it’s quiet even during Christmas Eve, but it’s gonna be okay, though.. because I’m taking my mom out for a walk tonight. Just around town, spending some quality time together—“

 _As you should_ , Mikasa thought, smiling to herself.

“—anyway, I hope you’re having a good Christmas Eve m. And Christmas too, of course. Oh, and, say happy birthday to Coach for me, will you? If you think that’s appropriate, of course... so, yeah, happy holiday, Mikasa. See you after the holiday, bye.”

Mikasa couldn’t decide whether it’ll be appropriate or not as she walked back into the kitchen, but when she saw Levi already occupying one of the kitchen stool, watching Erwin arranging the cut-up steak on the plates, she spat it out without having much thought into it, “Jean said hi, and, uh, Merry Christmas, and happy birthday to you.”

Levi raised his eyebrows slightly at her. “Which Jean?”

“How many Jean do you know?”

“Just that jerk-face Kirstein.”

“There you go. That’s exactly the one.”

Levi wiggled his eyebrows, his eyes flickered with humour and suspicion. “He still hadn’t give up on you, eh, even after all this years?”

“No—“

Erwin’s ears perked up with Levi’s condescending question. “Ooh, what did I miss?”

Mikasa quickly said, “nothing! Nothing important.” She glared at Levi, giving him a stern warning of _“don’t you dare, you little shit”_ without actually saying anything out loud, but Levi just laughed at her.

To Erwin, he winked. “I’ll tell you later.”

“Levi!”

“What-“

“It’s okay, Mikasa. I won’t pry if you don’t want me to.” Erwin cut in, calming them both down. “He sounded nice. Say thank you to him for us, will ya?”

Mikasa just huffed out, “alright”, and that conversation ended there.

When she’s positive Levi and Erwin no longer had their eyes on her, she snuck out her phone from her apron pocket and texted Jean.

“Merry Christmas to you too, Jean. Say hi to your mom for me.”

4\. Back in Hizuru. Just for a couple days.

“—I know it’s not morning, but I found a shop selling all sorts of tea, and I know that how you Ackermans love your tea—“

Mikasa wanted to say no, that’s just Levi, but she unintentionally glanced at her cup in her hand, inside happened to be tea, so she just rolled her eyes instead.

On-screen Jean walked into a small store. The seller inside immediately greeted him and Jean smiled to him in response. In a broken Hizuru language, he asked for the seller’s recommendation. The seller was quick to show him a few options, all of which he showed one by one on the camera.

_“Koibito ni agemasuka? [Are you buying for your girlfriend?]”_

Mikasa heard the seller asked and almost died from asphyxiation on the spot. She quickly put away her drink, and started hitting on her chest lightly to get rid of the blockage in her airway.

Jean too was flustered by that question, his face reddened while he let out a shaky laugh.

_“Iie. Iie. [No, no] For, um, tomodachi. [For my friends]”_

_“Sore wa zannen desune [Well, that’s a shame]. Tokubetsuna diskaunto wo ageraru ka to omoimasukedo.... [I was about to give a special discount]”_

_“Eh? Well, then, sure, for koibito!”_

_“Sore wa mou uso da to kimatterundesuyo! [That’s obviously a lie!]”_

Jean then laughed along with the seller. The watching Mikasa also let out a chuckle at that silly interaction. At the end, Jean just took all of his options, and the seller did give a special discount, since Jean’s allegedly buying for his ‘girlfriend’, but it could be just because he’s grateful to get that much sale from a customer.

The next week, when Jean’s back to work again, she went into his office early in the morning. Jean took the report she handed in and thanked her with a soft smile, but that smile lost its softness when Mikasa still dangled her hand out in front of him.

“What?”

“My souvenir?”

“Oh, right.” Jean took a paper bag out of his bottom drawer and placed it on the table. “Didn’t know which one you want, so I just took ‘em all—“

“Morning!” Connie came out of nowhere, entering Jean’s office without even knocking. “Breakfast?” He asked Jean who looked like he’s caught doing something wrong, but Connie didn’t notice it since he already turned his head to Mikasa. “You can join too, Mikasa— ooh, what is that?” Connie’s hand reached out for that paper bag but Mikasa snatched it away first.

“Is that souvenir?!” Connie tried to take it off Mikasa’s grip, but Mikasa hit his hand away. “Where’s mine?!” He shot Jean a glare.

“Um—“

“None for you. This—“ Mikasa dangled it in front of them, smirking, “—is for Jean’s _koibito_.”

Jean’s jaw dropped at Mikasa’s statement while Connie went ballistic with questions.

“What? What did she just say? Koi—what? What’s that?”

Mikasa quickly made her way out, leaving Jean that’s rendered speechless to handle that messy situation on his own, and proceeded to avoid both Connie and Jean for the rest of the day because she herself couldn’t believe she actually said that out loud!

@axermilk : fml

@mashedpotatobaby : i feel like ur not telling me something mikacha

@axermilk : as if u tell me everything

@mashedpotatobaby : oops baby im not even here im a hallucination

5\. Orvud

Mikasa opened the text she got from Jean, playing the video while she’s putting on makeup to go to work. It’s the usual stuff— Jean mumbling about the weather there and how he’s actually on hunt for Orvud’s famous sweet potatoes while he’s there, and said good morning.

At the end of it, Jean asked her how’s her days since he left, and Mikasa had never wanted to answer his question so much before.

She wanted to tell him how borderline annoying (read : adorable) Armin was being in his planning to propose Annie. She wanted to tell him she’s happy for Armin, for both of them in fact, but she’s also tired preparing for the surprise proposal, alone.

Mikasa felt bad for feeling this way, but she’s actually exhausted. The long hours of work already dried her out, and the time on the nights she spent helping her best friend leaving her with nothing but bones. She couldn’t say that to Armin, because that’ll make him feel bad, and that’s not a good thing because the D-day was getting closer.

Jean would understand her if she told him, she felt like, but it’s pointless to answer to him especially when he couldn’t hear it and say anything back, and it’s irritating the hell out of her.

She then tried to type a message so that he could read it but it’s taking too long and Mikasa’s not gonna waste her time doing just that. Thus, she decided on the next best thing. A call. Not just a regular call, a video call.

Jean answered on the second ring.

“Uh... Mikasa?” He looked surprised, maybe thinking that this was a prank initially, but his blushing face softened when he saw her at the other end. “Wait— you’re driving?”

Yes, she wanted to do this, but Mikasa was very much feeling self-conscious doing it, so this a perfect setup for her. She could talk to Jean, hearing Jean talking back to her, without looking directly at Jean with an excuse that she had to watch the road.

“Yeah, I’m on my way to the office— can you talk?”

“Actually... yes. I’m on my tea break now.” That claim was supported by the cup on his hand, sitting down on place that looked like a pantry. “Since when did you drive to work?”

“I’m just not in the mood being push around in the train today...” that sentence ended with a sigh and that’s a cue that Jean impressively picked up on.

“Mikasa?”

“Mm?”

“Something’s wrong?”

“...yes.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

“Jean,” Mikasa breathed out, “I’m tired...”

Without a missing a beat, Mikasa harped on about her exhausted emotions. She didn’t hold back, she didn’t stop talking for a very long time, not until she turned the car to the street leading to their office. She sure felt vulnerable like that, laying it all down on the table for Jean to see and judge, but she should know that she didn’t have to.

It’s Jean. He never judge her.

“I’m sorry you felt that way.” That’s the first thing he said after staying silent the whole time.

“Ugh— that bastard Eren wasn’t helping at all! And Armin, that freaking Libra, is just so indecisive about everything! I just—“

“You need a break, Mikasa.” Jean stops her from rumbling off again.

“I know that, but I can’t just... bail work—“

“Yes, you can.”

“No, I can’t-“

“Why not?!”

“Um, uh— our first quarter financial report is due next week, and I gotta— I must finish it—“

“Well, your executive isn’t there, isn’t he?” Jean talked over her. “He’s here— and he’s not gonna be back for another two days, so you got time. Plenty of it!”

Mikasa scoffed. “Still—“

“Mikasa,” Jean’s eyes were dead serious on her, and Mikasa could feel his stare piercing from her screen. “I’m asking you, as your executive, as your immediate superior officer, to take a day off. I’ll sign your leave application when I get back. I’ll even help you with the report, so, take a leave, today.”

Jean’s commanding voice sure shut whatever arguments she had left. The turn she had to take if she wanted to enter their company’s basement parking was now on sight, and Mikasa gotta decide whether to pull in or not in mere seconds.

“Mikasa....” Jean warned her.

Mikasa responded with a long, pathetic whimper as she passed through that turn without stopping. She felt ridiculously disappointed in herself for giving in to temptation but also kind of thrilled knowing there’s a rebellious part inside of her she never knew existed.

“I’m so proud of you.” His tone was casual but when Mikasa stole a glance at the screen, she saw him beaming proudly.

That made her wanted to stupidly smile too, but she repressed it by biting her bottom lip. “What do I do now?”

Jean shrugged, his smile still lingered. “You can go back home and sleep it off, but you can also do something different.”

“...like what?”

“Like so many things! Go grocery shopping at a supermarket you’ve never been to. Go try out a different flavour of tea in one of those hipster cafes downtown. Go window shopping. Go have a massage. Take a walk by the park. Order out for lunch— god, anything.”

Mikasa stopped at a red light, finally staring back at Jean that had been loyally doing just that since the beginning. Surprisingly, she didn’t feel embarrassed anymore, just thankful, and maybe still a little guilty about what she said about Armin before.

“I actually really do love doing all the work for Armin.” Mikasa confessed in a low voice.

“I know, and, you’ll continue doing just that after you take your break. I’m sure you’ll feel a whole lot better after this.”

Yeah. Yeah, Jean’s right. A slight rest wouldn’t hurt anybody.

“Okay.”

“Good.” Jean flashed her a grin. “Glad we settled on this.”

Mikasa smiled back, not as wide, but enough to make him fumbled for his next words.

“I— actually, um—“

“Yeah?”

“I have to go actually.” Jean smiled almost apologetically at her after clearing his throat. “My break ended like ten minutes ago.”

“Oh! Really?!”

“Yep.” Jean said with an exaggerated pop. “Sorry, I really have to go—“

“No, no, I get it. We wouldn’t want Hizuru people to catch Eldians slacking off, wouldn’t we?”

Jean bursted out laughing at that joke. “You know it, babe— I mean, ma’am.”

Mikasa was very close to laugh too at Jean’s slip-up, but she decided not to be a dick to a man that spent the entirety of his break listening to her ranting by pointing that out. Did Jean even drink his drink?

“Thanks, Jean. Talking to you really helps,” she stated that along with a genuine smile, diffusing the rising tension.

Jean smiled back just as genuine, looked rather relieved that Mikasa didn’t bring up anything else. “Anytime, Mikasa.” He glanced at his watch again. “I really gotta go now—“

“Wait! Jean?”

“Yeah?”

Oh, hell, was she really gonna do this? She glanced at Jean again before thinking “oh, what the hell” to herself.

“Can you not send a video next time?”

“Oh?” Jean’s face got discoloured fast. “You—you don’t want me to send them to you anymore?”

“No, no, it’s not that.” Mikasa quickly followed up, not wanting Jean to suffer an actual aneurysm or something like that before she could explain herself. “I mean, don’t send videos anymore. Just— just call me. Like this. Okay?”

“Seriously?” Jean was shocked again, but this time, it’s a different kind of shock. It’s a pleasant kind of shock.

“You don’t want to?” Mikasa teased.

“Pfft— yes! Hell yes! I mean— of course! If that’s not gonna bother you or anything.”

Mikasa offered him a reassuring smile. “It will not.”

Colours came back to Jean’s skin, brighter than ever, as he chuckled in disbelief. “Yeah, I— okay!”

“Okay. Now, you go back to work, okay?”

“Oh, yes! Work! Right!” Jean pressed on his temples a little, finishing off his residual chuckle as he did. “Yeah, I’m gonna go, Mikasa. Have fun today, okay?”

“I will... and, you take care too.”

“Will do, ma’am.” Jean slapped his knees as he pulled himself to his feet, taking along his phone as he towered over the screen. “Bye, Mikasa.”

“Bye, Jean.”

The call was over then, and Mikasa continued on her day, doing exactly as Jean suggested, all with an undying smile on her face.

6\. Hizuru, again.

“Did you get me flowers?” Mikasa asked as soon as the call was connected.

Jean was about to shove a spoonful of mac n’ cheese inside his mouth when he heard that and immediately pulled a face at her.

“Uh, good morning to you too, Mikasa.” Jean replied with a sassy tone. When Mikasa just deadpanned at him, Jean continued. “Today had been a good day for me, if you want to know. I ate sushi for lunch, and, frozen mac n’ cheese for dinner, as you can see,” he pointed out at his bowl in front of the camera before exclaiming loudly. “Fine dining. Truly the highest class of luxury—“

“Jean.”

“Yes, ma’am. I did.” Jean took another bite, chewing a few times, swallowed and then added innocently, “I did send you a bouquet of baby breaths to you, with a golden card that said ‘good morning. have a nice day.’, and I have no regret about it because it obviously made you...” He got closer to his phone, his long face now taking the full screen, narrowing his eyes and pretending to analyse Mikasa’s expression. “...mad? No... constipated....?”

“Jean!”

“Oh!” He ignored her and gasped playfully, “—you’re not actually allergic to flowers, aren’t you?”

“No!”

“So, you’re allergic to cute gestures, then, huh?”

Mikasa glared at him in response, decided not to entertain him anymore.

Jean finally sighed as he took in another spoonful, taking the phone to his hand instead of just placing it on his dining table just like it always did during their routine video calls.

“What’s the matter? You don’t like baby breaths?”

“No-“

“Baby breaths are great, Mikasa, they stayed that way for eternity— they’re eternal even after they dried out. Just like my—“

“Just like your what?”

“Just like my friend’s hair. Just like Connie’s hair.”

Mikasa couldn’t stop her amused grin, but she erased it quick, furrowing her eyebrows at the man on the screen. “Do you really have to send it to the office, though?”

“Where else you’re gonna be this morning?”

“Well, now, Sasha kept texting me, asking me about my new secret admirer— that pesky Historia really couldn’t keep a secret at all! The girls in our group chat don’t stop blasting me with thousand of questions about who’s the secret sender is— then, Connie joined in and I just had to skip lunch today. _Oh_ , the jokes he’s gonna make during lunch tomorrow are gonna be horrible—“

“Just tell ‘em, it’s from me.” Jean suggested with a mouthful.

Mikasa scrunched her face up.

“What, is it a bad idea?”

Jean said that casually, but Mikasa heard the hidden disappointment under his tone, probably thinking Mikasa made a big deal out of this because she refused to be associated with him in front of their friends.

“I just don’t want us to be the butt of the joke, Jean. I don’t want you to be the butt of the joke—“

“Ah, so you do care about me.”

Mikasa rolled her eyes, slumping deeper to her office chair.

“I don’t mind being the butt of joke, Mikasa,” Jean said suddenly after taking a drink, his bowl of mac n’ cheese now finished. “But if you’re not comfortable with that, I’ll stop.”

“Not comfortable is not exactly what I feel right now,” Mikasa mumbled.

Jean ignored her. “I won’t send you anything again. There’ll be no more flowers, no more surprises, no more gifts, especially not an exquisite bottle of Marley red wine dated 1978...”

There’s a glint of something in Jean’s eyes as he said that, causing Mikasa to squint her eyes at him, trying to decipher specifically the last sentence. It’s not until Historia suddenly knocked on her office door with something on her hands that everything clicked for her.

“Oh my god— you’re insufferable, Jean Kirstein.”

Jean chuckled at her hissing, and Mikasa immediately turned her volume way down so that Historia wouldn’t hear him when she finally came in. Historia smiled knowingly at her when she passed the box, and although Mikasa wished for the earth to swallow her whole now, she managed to mumble her thanks to Historia.

As soon as Historia walked out, she turned the volume up again but Jean didn’t make a sound anymore, just sat there on his dinner chair, crossing his arms at his chest with a smug look on his face.

Mikasa unboxed her gift, and it’s exactly like what Jean said; a bottle of Marley red wine.

“Well?” Jean finally said.

“Well, what?” Mikasa side-eyed him as she put the bottle back into the box carefully.

“You said thank you to Historia earlier, so I know you’re not actually allergic to saying thank you.”

“No, I’m just allergic to you— _oh, wipe the smirk off your face, Kirstein!_ ”

Jean snorted in response. “You’re welcome, Mikasa.”

@theabsoluteconman_ : I too like to be gifted alcohol by a secret crush. God, it’s me. Again. When me?

@mashedpotatobaby : god to you : oh my god not this guy again give it a rest buddy

7\. Marley

Mikasa let out a soft giggle. She then blinked once, noticing that her eyelids now were getting heavier and heavier by the second, hardly able focus to her phone screen now. Still, she asked. “What did you do then?”

“What I always do in that kind of situation— I yeeted myself the fuck of there as soon as possible—“

Mikasa smiled as Jean continued telling her the funny thing that happened to him that day, but that smile turned to an abrupt yawn. She tried to conceal it by covering her mouth with the tip of her blanket, but Jean must’ve noticed it because he immediately stop talking.

“...Mikasa?”

“Mm?”

“You tired?”

Mikasa wanted to say no. She wanted to tell him she’s okay, just a little exhausted, because she genuinely wanted to hear more of him, especially now when he’s been away for couple of days on a vacation with his family, but she could barely open her eyes now, so she just nodded a little.

“Sorry. I couldn’t sleep last night.” Mikasa finally admitted, rubbing on her eyes before yawning again.

“Aww,” Jean teased, “is it because you miss me?”

Mikasa shot him a sharp glance. “I’m hanging up, Jean.”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.”

For a few seconds after that, they just stared each other, Jean with his slight grin, Mikasa with her strong resistance to smile back at him, before Jean gave up and looked away.

Clearing his throat, Jean then spoke with low voice, soft but also strict, the way he always do whenever he wanted her to listen to him. “Go to sleep, Mikasa.”

Mikasa melted away. “Can I?”

“Yes.”

Mikasa pulled her blanket all the way to her neck then, leaving only her head out. “Will you continue that story tomorrow?”

“I will if you want to.”

“I do.” Mikasa smiled sheepishly. “Because it sounds fun.”

“What is?”

“Family vacation.”

“Well,” Jean raised his eyebrows, testing the water, “maybe you could join next time.”

“ _Maybe_.” Mikasa whispered back, the end of her lips curved up a little.

Jean failed to hide his cheeky smile miserably, while Mikasa sunk deeper under her blanket to hide her rosy cheeks after she said that. Her eyes then slowly blinked into shutting off completely.

“Good night, Mikasa.” Jean wished with a faint chuckle.

Just before she drifted away to the land of the dreams, Mikasa replied, “good night, Jean.”

8\. Sina

At the other end of the line, Jean heaved out a heavy breath, forcing Mikasa to look up from the cutting board to her phone she placed in her fruit basket earlier.

“What?” Mikasa threw him a question.

“It’s official, I’m taking you next time I’m going for a business trip.”

“What?!” Mikasa snorted, loud and embarrassingly, but Jean’s used to it so she didn’t bother apologising.

“I miss you, Mikasa!”

Mikasa swore Jean’s pout was the cutest thing, but she hid her giddiness by looking away and resuming her abandoned slicing work. “You’re coming home tomorrow.”

“I miss you now!”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

“It’s not the same, babe.”

Mikasa put down her knife, rinsing the slices of carrots in a bowl of water she prepared beforehand, before pouring them down in the soup she’s making.

“You’re such a baby, Jean.”

Jean actually laughed out loud then, the luggage he’s packing earlier now left untouched as he threw his back on the bed.

“I swear they have some grudge on me or something— why they keep sending me away?” He voiced out his complaint, taking the phone closer to him and Jean’s position now made it feel like they’re lying side to side, having a pillow talk session before bed.

“It’s because you’re the best.”

Jean huffed. “Armin’s the best.”

“Well-“ Mikasa started stirring her soup, glancing at him once in a while, “—Armin’s not with us anymore so they turn to you.”

“I wish they turn to Connie instead. Will be nice for him to go out once in a while, you know? See the world, meet new people, meet someone so he wouldn’t bother us anymore.” Jean shook his head dramatically. “I’m tired of having both a girlfriend and a boyfriend at the same time.”

Mikasa held back her giggle. “I’m gonna tell Connie you said that.”

Jean just stuck his tongue out and rolled to lie on his stomach, face very close to the screen, watching her cooking diligently like she’s doing a cooking show.

Mikasa was tasting the soup but the spoon didn’t reach her lips yet when Jean gasped.

“Are you wearing my hoodie while cooking?!”

“...yeah? Why? What’s wrong?” She asked after successfully tasting her soup.

Jean let out a sound that’s more to close a sob than a grunt. Mikasa ignored his antics, walking away a little to put her spoon in the sink, when Jean gasped again.

“And no pants too?!” Jean then made another sound that Mikasa could only describe as freshly laminated paper being shaken off — _ffwbbbbwbbbbhhh_ , or something like that— and it’s freaking her out a little.

“What?!”

“Nothing, nothing-“ Jean shook his head a few times, proceeded to mumble under his breath, “ _god, you’re such a dream..._ ” before speaking out again, “nothing. It looks good on you. I’m sooooo glad I’m gonna be home tomorrow— I swear I’ll die if I have to stay longer. It’d be nice if you’re the first one I see when I got home, though. I would be the luckiest man on earth—“

One hand stirring the soup, the other on her hip, Mikasa shot her phone screen a glance. “Are you asking me to pick to you up at the airport?”

“No.” Jean scoffed. “I’m asking you to move in with me.”

Her stirring stopped for a second. It’s not the first time Jean spoke about this, he hinted on it before a couple of times, but this felt like the most serious one because he’s actually asking her, with his puppy eyes looking increasingly expectant of her answer.

There’s a tug on Mikasa’s chest, a twist in her stomach and blush on her cheeks, mirroring his excitement.

“Think about it.” Jean lay on his back again. “We no longer have to choose whose house we’re gonna spend time at on our weekends. We’ll save money on rent, on groceries and on bills— I don’t have to unpack here and go somewhere else just to sleep in your arms. Mikasa, we get to wake up to each other and go to bed together-“

“Ask that to my face before your imagination runs wild, Kirstein.” Mikasa interrupted him. Sure felt like an ass doing that but she must, or she’s literally gonna turn into a giant puddle in her own kitchen.

“If I do that, will you say yes?”

“If you actually do that.”

Jean sat up, his grin wide accepting her challenge. “I will.”

“Great. You do just that, my man.”

The next morning, Mikasa woke up with a sturdy hand around her waist and a kiss on top of her head. Instead of freaking out that Jean’s here even though she pretty sure his flight would only be here in another hour, she nuzzled her body deeper into that hug until her back was pressed completely to his body, smiling to herself.

“Good morning,” Jean whispered that to her hair, starting to plant kisses that trailed down her jaw and then her neck, sending shiver down Mikasa’s spine. “I got something for you.”

“Yeah?” Mikasa mumbled as she titled her head a little, giving Jean more access. She’s expecting a box of her favourite tea that’s only being sold in Sina, or maybe a box of dark chocolate he bought at the airport, or a bottle of red wine or something, but he surprised her by with a bouquet of flower.

Not just any bouquet. It’s a baby breath bouquet, and in the middle of the arrangement, a tiny box.

Mikasa’s half-lidded eyes flew open just as her sleepiness were thrown out of the window. “Wait-“

“Whenever you’re ready, baby.” Jean planted another kiss, this time on her shoulder, nudging her to open it.

Considering how her inside was already a jumble of emotions, it’s honestly a miracle how steady her fingers were when she pulled the lid of the box open.

Inside, there’s his key apartment.

A scoff in disbelief exhaled out of her lungs as her nervousness turned into amusement slash irritation. “Jean. You absolute ass—“

Mikasa felt him smiling at her ear when he asked, “Mikasa, can we live together?”

Found herself smiling as well, Mikasa just replied, “sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my imagination, Hizuru is actually Japan, so the above dialogue in ‘Hizuru language’ is actually just Japanese.
> 
> Just for context, Mikasa used to study in Hizuru, and Jean did a semester there, that’s how they got close in the first place. Also, in this story Armin is actually Erwin’s son. 
> 
> Comments are always welcomed and thank you for reading.


End file.
